


Colors of Love

by frantic65



Category: Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 22:59:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10545786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frantic65/pseuds/frantic65
Summary: Over time, Ennis begins to wonder if he & Jack would be safer together after all.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is a series of somewhat related drabbles that originally had the colors of the pride rainbow attached to them for a challenge, but really didn't add anything to the story which is why I removed the colors when reposting.

Ennis wasn't queer. 

He watched Jack, shirtless and sweating, chopping wood with a measured swing of his tanned arm.

As Jack caught him looking, Ennis licked his dry lips, blaming the sun's rays for his sudden thirst.

Ennis forgot to breathe when Jack tossed the axe aside, striding easily to his side, husky, 'C'mere', the only sound Ennis could hear before Jack's fingers and Jack's mouth made him forget that enjoying another man's touch was wrong, wrong, wrong.

He let Jack lower him to the ground, and he welcomed what came next.

No, Ennis wasn't queer. 

Ennis was in love.

They lay together beneath the starry, mountain sky, fingers entwined, lazy kisses being shared with eyes wide open. 

No words were spoken, yet an imperfect understanding had been reached, tentative and fragile, needing to be nurtured, and protected, as required for all things newborn to thrive.

Soon touches grew bolder, desire reawakened from it's temporary slumber to urge a contact both intimate and intense. 

Ennis felt the rough blanket scratch lightly at his cheek, Jack's weight upon his back leaving an imprint on his soul he would often regret, but never forget. 

Life would go on whatever choice he made.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Jesus, Jack, what the hell happened?" Ennis jumped down from the bed of his truck, skidding to a stop in front of a bruised and battered Jack, his recent anger at his man for being hours late for their rendezvous forgotten in the face of Jack's injuries. 

"It's nothing, Ennis. Just picked the wrong side of an angry mob." Jack smiled weakly, reaching around to grab Ennis by the nape of his neck, pulling him into a kiss that verged on obscene, considering the trailhead was not exactly private. 

Ennis contemplated retreat, but instinct persuaded him to hold on tight.

"What a fucking trip!" Jack said much later, nuzzling Ennis, who was reclining snug against his chest, bottle of whiskey steadily emptying between them. 

Ennis lit a cigarette, holding it up to Jack's lips before returning it to his own, sighing in pleasure when Jack's fingers began to stroke slowly through his hair.

"Don't you know better than to stop at any old honky tonk dive on that Interstate?" Ennis asked, grabbing Jack's hand where it rested on his chest, squeezing gently. "Knuckles ain't bruised, bud. Didn't you get in a shot or two?"

"Not that kind of fight, Ennis."

Ennis turned to examine Jack's abused face, fear's icy hand clutching his heart. "Just what kind of fight was it?" He asked quietly, holding Jack's gaze when he tried to look away.

"Jack?"

Jack grimaced, letting out a sigh. " The kind where a coupla guys jump you, hold you down and beat the piss out of you."

"That's fucking assault!" Ennis raised onto his knees, facing Jack. "You go to the police?" 

Ennis frowned as Jack shook his head.

No one would have lived to tell the story if they'd tried that shit with him.

Jack could have been killed. 

Ennis felt his world shift as he realized he might have been wrong thinking Jack and he would be safer living separate lives. Maybe all these years the answer really was that simple. They would have had each other's backs. 

Been careful. 

Kept to themselves.

Ennis had miscalculated and Jack had almost died. 

He had been selfish and stubborn, and Jack had almost died.

He had nothing keeping him in Riverton except erratic visits from his girls whenever Alma was feeling generous.

Jack made him feel alive.

Without him he was fucking lonely. 

What would he do if Jack died?

Ennis had the horses saddled and ready to go by the time Jack emerged from the tent the next morning longing for a hearty breakfast and a gallon of coffee. 

"It's a little early for our daily ride, isn't it?" Jack squinted up at Ennis blearily, admiring the way he looked upon horseback, even as his ass complained from the pounding it had received during the night.

"I packed a thermos of coffee and some food." Ennis said with a wink. "We can have ourselves a picnic."

Jack shook his head in confusion. "Well, alright."

"Besides, we need to talk."

They rode for a long time in silence, the sunlight breaking through the canopy of branches overhead painting intriguing patterns on the dusty trail.

Jack was watching Ennis curiously, trying to figure out what the he'll was going on with him.

Ennis intercepted a glance and smiled. Jack almost fell off the horse at the happiness and contentment that grin contained; instead he smiled back a little uncertainly, a fluttering beginning in his stomach at the possibilities.

Ennis urged his horse closer to Jack's before reaching over and covering Jack's hand with his own. 

"I've decided to move to Texas."

Jack pulled up hard on the reins, causing his horse to stop short with an annoyed snort, and Ennis’s hand to slide off of his. 

Ennis slowed to a halt, turning his own mount around to come alongside Jack, who was now staring at him in shock mixed with a slight edge of anger.

Ennis began to ask if Jack was okay, but was quickly cut off. “Do not say a fucking word right now.” He gestured with his head toward a clearing off to their right, a broad green slice of meadow that overlooked a rocky and desolate valley.

Ennis remained quiet as they dismounted and settled their horses in a shady space, but inside he was confused and surprised at Jack’s immediate reaction to his announcement. Wasn’t this what Jack had always claimed to want? Ennis knew he should have made this decision sooner, but the time had never been right before, and he hadn’t known that Jack was in danger before either. 

“Jack?” He finally asked when he couldn’t take the silence any longer, walking to step in close behind Jack who was staring off into the horizon, eyes seemingly fixed on the cloudy mountain peaks above. 

“Why, Ennis?” Jack asked; his voice so low Ennis could barely hear him. Jack turned to look at him, and Ennis almost jumped back from the fury that fairly blazed from his eyes. “Why now?”

Ennis’s mouth was suddenly dry, and he nervously wiped the back of his hand across his lips. He heard the birds singing in the woods behind him, he heard the rustle of the leaves in the playful mountain breeze, and he thought for the first time since he had seen Jack’s bruised face that maybe he had made a serious error in judgment. 

Oh Shit!

“There ain’t nothing for me in Wyoming anymore, Jack.” Ennis began hesitantly, not quite sure how to react to Jack’s unexpected anger. Sure, they’d fought in the past, but he’d never seen the cold fury that was radiating from Jack like the heat from a wildfire right now. “Hell, you’ve known that longer than I have, bud.”

Jack tilted his head, seeming to consider Ennis’s words, before nodding slowly. “Alright, I believe that much, but to up and declare that Texas is the place for you suddenly…” He ran his fingers roughly through his hair. “That’s just plain bullshit, Ennis.”

Ennis frowned at Jack’s words, feeling frustrated that Jack wasn’t jumping with fucking joy at finally getting his way, but he stayed calm, deciding that maybe Jack had a right to be thrown by the news. 

“I don’t understand,” he admitted, reaching out to grab Jack’s shoulder. “Ain’t this what you always wanted for us?”

Jack bit his bottom lip, the hard edges of anger softening slightly at Ennis’s touch and sincere confusion. “Of course it is, you dumb ranch hand, but a man like you doesn’t all of a sudden change their life view full circle without good reason.”

Ennis looked around him, felt the warmth of Jack’s skin beneath his hand, thinking of the pitifully few times they actually saw each other, had the chance to be together the way they were that first summer on the mountain, and he understood what Jack needed. 

“I’m sorry, Jack.” He whispered, palm moving over to rest against Jack’s face. “I’m so fucking sorry for this half-life I’ve been making us live for so long.” 

He leaned in and pressed his lips against Jack’s, feeling sheer relief as Jack’s arms encircled him, pulling him closer; a step in the right direction. 

Later, much, much later, after the sun had set, and the moon had risen, Jack lay back in their bedroll, sated and content, Ennis still straddling his hips after giving him a most satisfactory ride. 

"So tell me," Jack asked, lazily stroking his hands up and down Ennis's chest, enjoying the feel of his man. "What the hell are you gonna do in Texas?"

Ennis looked down with another of his rare smiles. "Why, I'll be watching over you, of course." 

Jack frowned and asked curiously, "Watching me do what exactly?" 

"Live your life. We can keep each other safe."

Jack suddenly understood what had happened to cause such a drastic change in Ennis's attitude.

"This is about me getting my ass kicked in that bar, ain't it?" Jack asked, stilling his hands, pressing his palms flat against Ennis's stomach.

Ennis looked away quickly, then back. "It kind of knocked some sense into me. I always figured us staying away from each other would keep us safe from harm. I never realized until I saw you beat up that shit happens whether we're together or apart." He shrugged and grabbed Jack's hands. "Figure we may as well be together then."

"So you gonna be my mistress?" Jack teased, fingers entwined with Ennis's as they playfully wrestled in a familiar game of push and pull.

Ennis scowled at Jack's words, but he answered seriously. "Right now, if something happened to you, I'd never know, would I?"

Jack shook his head slowly, looking grim.

"Well, that's just unacceptable odds, and I'm in a position to fix that." Ennis released Jack's hand and brushed his hair off his face.

"What if I told you I wasn't going back to Texas?" Jack asked.

"Why then I will go wherever you go. It's that simple."

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling contentedly. "Holy Shit, you really mean it, don't you?"

"Hell yes, I mean it." Ennis grabbed Jack's arms and flipped him over, laying his body across Jack's, their faces only inches apart. "Wherever you decide to hang your hat, mine is gonna be hanging right there beside it. There will be no escaping me."

"Son of a bitch." Jack whispered, lifting his head to give his man a hungry kiss. "We're gonna make this thing work. I promise you that."

Ennis pressed his forehead against Jack's gently.

"So, where we going, bud?"


End file.
